The weblog of Norman Geras

March 23, 2006

Unmarriageable

What is the most mistrusted minority in America? Try to guess before reading on. According to a survey done by sociologists at the University of Minnesota it's people like... me: right down to Americans not wanting their daughters to marry me. The cheek of it! I am not available to marry them. And how do they know who I'd want to marry if I were?

Ennnnnyway, here's who Americans mistrust most - atheists.

Even though atheists are few in number, not formally organized and relatively hard to publicly identify, they are seen as a threat to the American way of life by a large portion of the American public. "Atheists, who account for about 3 percent of the U.S. population, offer a glaring exception to the rule of increasing social tolerance over the last 30 years," says Penny Edgell, associate sociology professor and the study's lead researcher.